Hall of Jade Billows 玉澜堂

Emperor Guangxu was the son of Empress Dowager Cixi's sister. He was no where near the line of succession after Emperor Tongzhi died without an heir. However, he was appointed as the successor by Cixi. Cixi then acted as the Regent for a four year old emperor. Sound familiar? Emperor Guangxu was imprisoned here by Empress Dowager Cixi in 1898 when he tried to execise his powers as an emperor. He remained here until his death in 1908 at the age of 38.

Summer Palace Museum 颐和园博物館

This museum  showcases the treasures found in the Summer Palace.

Wenchang Tower 文昌閣

It once served as the entrance into Summer Palace.

Green tea ice cream

The Pavilion of Heralding Spring 知春亭

It provides a good view of the Kunming Lake and the Longevity Hill.

Kunming Lake

Tower of Buddhist Incense

Hall of Benevolence and Longevity 仁寿殿

This where Empress Dowager Cixi handled state affairs during her stay here. 

Qilin

Summer Palace 頤和園

Emperor Qianlong built this palace on the existing imperial park to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother in 1749. It has been used as a retreat from the summer heat by the imperial family since. It is the only large scale imperial garden that is well preserved in China. The Summer Palace was named a World Heritage Site in 1998  for being "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design".

We arrived at 10.00 in the morning and entered through the Eastern Palace Gate. This palace is huge. We did not see much of the palace on our first visit in 2001. This time we managed to see all the main sites. We left at 3.38 pm by the North Palace Gate.

A pair of bronze lion guarding the entrance

The lioness is depicted with a cub at its feet

Huda 胡大

We went to Guijie 簋街 again for dinner. We found this restaurant on the internet. This restaurant specialises in stir fried little lobsters.

Sunflower seeds were served while we waited for our food

13 spices lobsters

Minced garlic lobsters

Lobster soup rice

The expert

The rookie

It was so good that we came back for more

Datong to Beijing

We took the 1728 high speed train back to Beijing.